Photo of the day

Beach rocks on the Eastern end of PEI . . .

One day on a beach on the Eastern end of Prince Edward Island this past summer, the temperature was hot and the water perfect for swimming in. These flat, typically coloured Island red rocks were extremely warm to the touch. I've still yet to figure out why I'm fascinated by the colours found on PEI, but they make for great photos. It's probably because they remind me of home. Taken August 2005.

Photo of the day

A misty Partridge Island. . .

As I continue my trip across Canada (started in April 2005), I traveled to Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, just over a week ago. It's a great little town - more so in the summer time then now for the obvious reason (it's winter). The Fundy Geological Museum was my actual target in Parrsboro where they've got - among other things, mineral and dinosaur displays, but it's relatively small and I found I had plenty of time to go off exploring in other directions.
Not to distant from the town itself is Partridge Island. You can climb the path around the island up to what's referred to as a "look off." On the day I was there, as the picture illustrates, it was really misty so once I got to it, I found it difficult to see any real distance. The temperature was above seasonal which helped create the mists and the opportunity to take some interesting pictures.
It was actually kind of creepy, I figured at any moment the Blair Witch was going to jump out from behind a tree. I was alone and hearing things fall further back in the woods, which started to play on my usually rock solid nerves (well, not really rock solid). Fortunately I didn't come across any bundles of sticks or anything and survived to develop my photos. It was a great experience - well, not the Blair Witch part. . .

Photo of the day

Passage to the Taal Volcano . . .

While in Tagaytay, I traveled over to the Taal Volcano which is located on an island in the middle of Taal Lake (which is 20x30 km). We traveled via one of the boats in the above photo. It was a spectacular trip as I sat in the back and got drenched by the extremely warm spray. I took the trip and picture mid-July 2005.

Heading back to Vancouver

I wrote earlier about my decision to leave Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories and subsequent travels from the North to Vancouver in the South - a trip of some 2,500 kilometres. It was a great drive, despite not having a heater in the car or a great deal of money to whoop it up along the way.
After four days on the road, with one spent visiting in Prince George, British Columbia, I finally made it to Vancouver. I couldn't believe how warm it was and how great the cherry trees looked in bloom when I arrived. The North has its own incredible beauty - and for those who get the chance to see the difference between North and South, driving from one to the other makes for some powerful images.
Once in Vancouver, I took a few weeks off to relax. That meant wandering the city, taking photos, walking in Stanley Park, having nice long dinners and, essentially, enjoying what Vancouver has to offer in the Spring time.
Unfortunately, I can't sit for too long. I seem to get frustrated if I don't have a purpose, so with that in mind, I thought - while trying to find work in my field, I'd try something new to make some money and help with the bills. That something new turned out to be teaching English to foreign students.
The majority of "my" students were either Japanese or Korean. The school itself had two campuses, both of which were located in downtown Vancouver, not far from where I was living. It was perfect for me, cause I could work part time and look for journalism jobs or traipse around taking photos.
After about four weeks, the owner of the school approached me and asked if I would travel to the Philippines for a month to help in his endeavour to open a location there. As he and I discussed, it was advantageous for ESL schools to open in the Philippines because it was a cheaper option for Asian students and school owners. ESL schools were difficult to maintain, I was told, in Vancouver because of the associated costs to students and owners. Perhaps size does matter.
Agreeing to the trip was easy for me cause it was a free, all expense paid journey to another country. I even got a few bucks when I got back to Canada. How could I say no to a holiday on someone else's dime - it's not like I was doing anything anyway. . .
Getting back to the owner's idea for the school in the Philippines, he figured students would stay for a number of months before heading over to Vancouver to complete their studies. In doing so, it cut down on the amount of money the students would have to spend, and on top of that, it cut down on the overhead paid out by the school. It is by far cheaper to do business in the Philippines, not only because of the proximity to the countries from which you want to attract students, but because salaries and building rentals are a lot lower then in Vancouver.
Also, English is spoken by many in the Philippines and the teachers I came across - as well as Filipinos working in other fields, have an excellent work ethic. It doesn't hurt either that the Philippines is a beautiful region of the world.
So with all that in mind, I agreed and in early July of 2005, I took off for Manila via Tokyo. One of my biggest regrets was not being able to change my ticket so I could spend some time in Tokyo, which means I'll have to go back some other time. Getting back to the flight for a second - it was long - I mean really, really long. . .
Upon arrival in Manila, it was night and incredibly humid. Certainly not what I had experienced in Canada's North weeks before. Still, it was the rainy season and - though I had experienced intense heat on a previous trip to Australia, this was certainly an eye and pore opener.
My job was to assist in teaching the first class for this new school and help to advise on whether this was in fact a good idea and whether it would even get off the ground. The initial idea was good in that it would allow students who couldn't afford to make it to Canada to have English language training, but the plan certainly was shot to hell because of poor communication between those in Vancouver and those they originally dealt with in Manila. Things further went to hell as the first few days unfolded. It was the beginning of a month of unique experiences, starting with a decision to move from Manila to a resort city about two hours away called Tagaytay. A beauty spot eh!
More later. . .

Photo of the day

An old Okanagan homestead. . .

This old homestead located between Penticton and Osoyoos in British Columbia's Okanagan Valley was the backdrop for a trip me and a friend went on in July of 2003. My friend is an avid fan of rattlesnakes. His goal is preserve rattlesnake habitats in this region, though there are a number of factors working against him and others in this endeavour.
The Okanagan has become a major region for fruit growers and most recently for wineries. Of course, when industries such as these develop, they tend to encroach on the habitat of such animals as rattlesnakes. The two will inevitably clash - with the bigger of the two usually winning out, that being the human.
In the picture above, you can see sage growing in front of the old house. It was actually an incredible experience as I walked toward it taking photos. I found myself standing in the midst of the sage, which was loaded with thousands of bees. It was an amazing feeling to be standing there, surrounded by creatures that most have grown to fear for the obvious reason.
What was also incredible was the fact my friend had come across a rattlesnake about 5 feet long nestled in amongst the crumbling porch of this house. He was calling over to me, but I couldn't hear him because of the sound the bees were making. I literally had to walk over to where he was standing before I could hear what he was trying to tell me.
As you can imagine, it was a beautiful day and extremely hot. All made for a bunch of great pictures.

Photo of the day

English Bay at dusk. . .

This is one of my favourite pictures. I took this one night while out and about in Vancouver. It's at dusk on English Bay on a beautiful summer's evening. Taken August 2005.

Getting back on the road

In my continuing story about how I spent the last year - my 39th year, I left my last post coming off the ice bridge across the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories. As I discuss my drive down through the N-W-T and into Alberta, I just want to point out - karaoke in the wrong hands can be a lethal combination of screeching and incoherent babbling that should be reserved for pros or banned from bars where beer and microphones make easy companions.
I had left Yellowknife early to mid-morning, figuring it would take me three hours to reach the ice bridge, but, of course, it was raining and road conditions were wretched to say the least. There was a great deal of the road still under construction, meaning much was gravel and/or dirt. I swear it felt like I went into potholes and came out the mouth of tunnels.
By the time I had finally reached the ice bridge - itself at the end of a very muddy, dirt road, it was heading into mid to late afternoon. After crossing this particular path to the South, I eventually made it Enterprise. From the time I had been there on the way up to Yellowknife the previous year, there wasn't much except a small service station to stop at. This time; however, there was a new convenience store and gas station.
Another noticeable difference was the lack of flies. When I first stopped at Enterprise the previous summer, I was mugged by a billion flies. They were fast moving little bastards that attacked you, but once inside your car, just sat on the window staring outside as if they longed for their friends back wherever you had originally kidnapped them from. It was easy to get rid of them - just open the window.
During the drive up, on one occasion, I decided to get out of the car and attend to the needs of nature. That was a mistake. Not much wonder the Bison seem to be shivering all the time. It's to keep the flies off them. During another period, when I worked in the woods in Northern British Columbia, I encountered a similar problem with flies, but in time you just get used to them - or die or move down South. I figured I'd get used to these guys too, but once I got to Yellowknife, there didn't seem to be a fly problem inside the city limits for some reason.
Either way, I digress. Upon leaving Enterprise, I traveled South toward High Level, Alberta. I figured if I could make it to that town on my first day, I'd be doing great. Actually, there wasn't really anywhere else to go in order to find a place to stay, so I had better make it.
One thing that seemed to make things difficult was the fact I don't have a heater in my car. The heating coil burned out the previous year. If you can imagine, I drove around Yellowknife at minus 40 degree temperatures without a freak'in heater. I had bought one of those heaters you can hang anywhere on the inside of your car, and plug into the cigarette lighter. Well, I can tell you first hand, they're as useful as a screen door on a submarine.
While travelling South to High Level, I had packed on all this extra clothes to protect myself from the cold. I was wearing so much, I could've stopped a bullet. Unfortunately I hadn't protected my feet as well and by the time I pulled off at High Level, I could hardly walk they were so cold.
And, as I recall heading toward High Level, all I could think about was pulling off into a relatively nice hotel, having a nice steak dinner and a few cold beers. I think that's what kept me going through that somewhat arduous trip.
Finally heading into High Level, with that lousy heater now on the floor between my legs to try and get some heat back into my feet, I saw the lights of a number of hotels. Being a person who finds humour in most things, I saw that there was a hotel named the Flamingo. It even had the sign that looked like the original neon sign from the Flamingo in Las Vegas.
So going in, I got a nice room with a propane fireplace. It wasn't too expensive - I was on a budget, so I had to keep that in the back of my mind the entire trip. That didn't stop me from going into the restaurant/bar to order that steak I had been craving since Enterprise. I'm not prone to eating red meat, I'd just as soon not, but for some reason I needed that fix.
With the steak ordered, the cold beer sitting on the table in front of me, I figured I'd just landed in paradise. My feet, in fact, were starting to get feeling back in them and as I drank my beer I was able to ignore the pins and needles that were travelling up and down the lower part of my legs.
When all of a sudden, someone started up a horrendous version of "Do You Really Want Me?" by the Culture Club. Holy crap, I had landed in the middle of karaoke night at the Flamingo. And, believe me, karaoke can be fun when you're in the right mood and there's a whole stable of good singers (like in the Philippines for some reason) waiting to jump the mic, but that night, it was like swinging a live cat around your head by its tail.
Hence my belief beers and microphones make easy companions that should be restricted to enclosed sections of the bar like smoking rooms are. With all that racket going on, I paid my bill and was thankfully able to buy off sales. I brought a six pack back to the room where I warmed my feet by the propane fireplace.
What a day. . . more later.

Photo of the day

Getting around in the Philippines. . .

I took this shot while travelling in what's known as a tricycle. That's a motorcycle with a covered side car, used in the Philippines.
During the month of July 2005, while working for an English language school in Vancouver, I was asked to travel to the Philippines to assist in the school's endeavours to open a branch there. The school would cater mostly to Korean students. The goal was to attract Korean students to the Philippines where they would study for a number of months and then travel to Vancouver to complete their studies.
I spent a month working in the resort community of Tagaytay, a beautiful spot overlooking the Taal Volcano. The original idea for the school didn't quite work out in the way both myself and those back in Vancouver who were footing the bill had initially planned, but a new one was established not far from Manila. It started up operations in September of 2005.
Though, I'm now out of the English language teaching business (and I use the word "business" for a reason), I had a spectacular time in the Philippines where I met great people and had wonderful experiences. I shall one day go back to that country, to see more and hopefully meet an even larger number of Filipinos.
As an aside, there is a Starbucks located in Tagaytay that overlooks the Taal Volcano. It's one of the most spectacular and breathtaking views of any that I've seen in my travels. Despite the fact I'm a Tim Hortons fan, I did regularly take time out to down a cup of tea and admire the view.